Croatia is the only member of the European Union to be in the "orange zone" of the new travel warning system Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia (SME). In practice, this means that citizens of Serbia are advised to travel to that country only in case of extreme necessity.
The decision is part of the new system of the so-called "traffic lights" for travel, by which the MSP classified all the countries of the world into four categories - from green, which implies usual caution, to red, for countries where travel is not recommended due to security risks.
This immediately caused political and diplomatic reactions.
Why is Croatia in orange?
While most European countries are in the green category, Croatia is in the same group as a number of countries from Africa and Asia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia stated that the recommendation for Croatia was made due to the "latest events" and "increasingly frequent incidents, tensions and unfavorable security circumstances."
Citizens of Serbia are therefore recommended not to travel to Croatia in the coming period unless absolutely necessary.
If travel is necessary, additional caution is advised - avoiding public gatherings and places where provocations can be expected, caution in communication and concern for personal and property safety.
The Ministry warns in particular about organized trips, such as the arrival of sports teams and cultural delegations, and calls on sports associations and cultural societies to consult with the competent authorities before traveling to assess security risks.
Reaction from Croatia
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia responded to the recommendation from Belgrade.
As "Večernji list" reports, they said with an ironic note from Zagreb that "for now, it seems that the biggest tension in Croatia is the choice between the Adriatic coast and the continental wine routes".
The announcement also states that travel warnings sometimes produce the so-called "forbidden fruit effect", so tourists, despite the warnings, or precisely because of them, come in even greater numbers.
Four warning levels
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' "traffic light" envisages four levels of travel advice. Green color indicates free travel with regular caution, yellow color refers to countries to which travel is recommended with additional precautions, orange color indicates countries to which travel is recommended only in case of extreme necessity. Travel to countries marked in red is not recommended.
There are 23 countries in the red category, mainly from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Among them are Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Ukraine, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and the Central African Republic.
There are 28 countries in the orange category - almost all of them are African and Asian. The only European exception is Croatia.
There are 61 countries in the yellow zone, where extra caution is recommended during travel. From Europe, only Albania is on that list.
All other countries of the world are in the green category, which implies standard caution when traveling.
